As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Embedded controllers such as baseboard management controllers (BMCs) in information handling systems such as servers do not include the sophistication of Ethernet MACs, and thus network connectivity for remote access to embedded controllers has been limited to relatively slow speed interfaces (I2C and SMBUS) to the sideband of a network interface controller (NIC), such as a LAN on motherboard (LOM) device. The traditional bandwidth allowed with such relatively slow interfaces is 100 KHz, 400 KHz or 1 MHz. An I2C interface significant limits implementation of embedded controller system features to interfaces such as Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI), Data Center Manageability Interface (DCMI), command line interfaces, serial over LAN, etc. Advanced embedded controller features requiring more bandwidth (such as virtual media, virtual video/keyboard/mouse (KVM), and remote desktop) utilize modern video resolutions that cannot be provided across the relatively slower traditional I2C and SMBUS interfaces. Most of the traditional high bandwidth features are needed while the host server is in the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) ON state (S0).
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional server 100 that includes a host processor/chipset device 105 and main system DRAM memory 115 that is coupled via dual data rate (DDR) channel 150 as shown to host processor (CPU) 105 of chipset 105. Server 100 also includes local system storage 135 in the form of one or more media drives 135 to provide permanent storage for the server 100, and a power supply component 160 that is coupled to AC mains 185. Power supply 165 may receive AC mains current and produce a regulated DC power source for the various components of system 100 perform power supply functions such as AC to DC conversion and voltage regulation. Server 100 also includes an embedded controller in the form of BMC 180 that is provided on the same planar board as the host processor/chipset 105, and that is coupled to communicate with host processor 105 via PCIe bus 120 or alternatively a low pin count (LPC), enhanced serial peripheral interface (SPI) or USB bus.
Still referring to FIG. 1, a network controller 160 is provided that is coupled to an external network 190 by an Ethernet data link interface 192. Network controller 160 operates at the physical layer and data link layer (including filtering at the Media Access Control MAC address layer) to exchange incoming data packets and outgoing data packets between external network 190 and particular components of server 100. As shown, network controller 160 is coupled to both provide incoming network data traffic to host processor 105 and to receive outgoing network data traffic from host processor 105 across relatively high-speed Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) serial bus 152 which is a host to I/O adapter type message transport/bus/interface. Network controller 160 is also coupled as shown by a relatively slow Network Controller Sideband Interface (NC-SI) to exchange incoming and outgoing Ethernet data pass-through traffic between network 190 and BMC 180 to enable remote out-of-band management of server 100. Besides pass-through network traffic, NC-SI interface 101 also carries command and control traffic between BMC 180 and network controller 160 to configure and control the NC-SI interface 101, and interrupts from the network controller 160 to the BMC 180.
FIG. 2 illustrates conventional methodology for communication of incoming network traffic received across data link 192 to BMC 160 and host processor/chipset 105 based on MAC address filtering. As shown data packets destined for host processor/chipset 105 are transferred across PCIe bus 152 to a receive buffer in system memory 115. Data packets destined for BMC 180 are transferred as pass-through Ethernet packets over Reduced Media Independent Interface Based transport (RBT) across sideband interface connection 101 using NC-SI protocol. FIG. 3 illustrates conventional methodology for communication of outgoing (egress) network traffic received from BMC 160 across data link 192 to external network 190. As shown data packets destined for external network 190 are transferred as pass-through Ethernet packets to network controller 160 RBT across sideband interface connection 101 using NC-SI protocol. Sideband communication of incoming and outgoing packets across sideband interface 101 is shared with transmittal of command and control traffic between BMC 180 and network controller 160.
CPU and chipset providers have emerging offerings of chipset integrated embedded microcontrollers (such as “Innovation Engines” or “IEs”) that can provide BMC functionality without the need for an external BMC chip, circuitry and firmware. These conventional IE's do not provide Ethernet Media Access Control Layer (MAC) functionality and rely on external NIC sideband interfaces for network connectivity. Proposals have been made for network controller (e.g., network interface controller (NIC)) sideband interfaces that utilize gigabit-based interfaces such as Serial Gigabit Media Independent Interface (SGMII) and reduced gigabit media-independent interface (RGMII), rather than 100 Mbps Reduced Media Independent Interface (RMII)-based interfaces.
GPUDirect is a method that allows network adapters to transfer memory contents from one GPU to another remote GPU via remote direct memory access (RDMA) without involvement from the host processor, and utilizes peer-to-peer messaging for intercommunication between two devices on the same root complex. GPUDirect is not possible for integrated devices that may or may not sit on the PCIe interface. Existing interconnects such as system management bus (SMBus) can be used, but those do not provide the throughput needed for high bandwidth applications such as remote desktop.